Stockholm
by lovelydangerousdear
Summary: Itachi. Sakura. Ibiki. An interrogation of a Stockholm sufferer, a lonely ugly man, and the traitor that never was. An almost love. slight Itasaku, Ibisaku


**Disclaimed.**

**This is solely for you angel897, because you are awesome, and amazing, and I love you.**

Stockholm

Suspect: Haruno Sakura

Age: 21

M.I.A. Status: 5 years.

Abductor(s): Akatsuki; Rouges Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigake Kisame

Ibiki stars at the paper, and then looks to a grim old Tsunade. Her henge is fading, the silver in her hair poking out wryly as her eyes droops, and her breasts sag. Her gaze is contrite with desperation and hate. Ibiki says nothing, Tsunade says nothing, then the ugly scarred man bows his head and ducks out. He wastes no time in heading down to the integration holding cells, and looking upon the ugliest most defiant woman he'd seen in a long time, and that included Anko.

The pinkette's head is bowed, and he takes in the bulgy nobly-ness of her knees and shoulders, her hands mocked those of a skeleton, and he is sure that under the plain white medical gown he would see all of her bony ribs stick perturbingly at him. He crackd his neck and steps towards the girl with his most menacing face, and she lifts her face.

It is the only part of her body she could move (she is in a restraining chair), and he pauses briefly. This is not the face a broken girl, confused, or scared. There is more of a boyish tone to her flattened cheeks, and strong chin, and a weary, accepting curiosity in her eyes. He changes tactics, ordering Inochi to bring two chairs, water and paper. The blond sends him a dubious look but the items requested were brought.

Carefully Ibiki pours a cool glass of water and helps Sakura drink, watching curiously as her esophagus strains to swallow, and her tongue runs over her cracked lips after the glass is emptied. He sits and asks the chunin what her story is.

She smiles, and at that moment a spark lit in Ibiki. Her face and body had been tested, her spirit bent, but not broken, and Ibiki promises himself he would help her remold it, and not just for Tsunade anymore.

Over the next few weeks Sakura went year by year recounting every atrocity, every abuse and horror she had endured. She carefully informed them of every bit of information she had leaked, all of it outdated within a few weeks of her imprisonment, and that surprised Ibiki. There were many more things she could have told which would have endangered the village, and she only gave away half-truths and lies. He hadn't expected her to be so strong and told her this.

"It wasn't strength, Itachi was just merciful," She replies after a glass of water.

That makes Ibiki's stomach roll but he ignores it. He hates the way she spoke of her captor, with a reverence unbefitting of an active-duty, supposedly loyal kunochi.

"What would you know of loyalty?" she spat when he tells her this.

That comment alone lands her in solitary confinement for two solid weeks, by the angry interrogator. In all honesty it is more of an act of masochism than anything. The Haruno girl had become an ever present puzzle that wouldn't leave him alone. It bothered him when he slept, it bothered him when he ate, it even bothered him when he fucked Anko. He considers telling her this one-day to see her reaction, to let her see that there is still hope, that there is still a chance for solidity in Kohona. He wants to make her think about him, he wants her to see that he with his massive, gnarled hands could anchor her down. That he is as much of her captor as Itachi, but this time he could actually set her free.

"I was never imprisoned when I was with him." Sakura says suddenly soft. Ibiki spun around with his hand splayed ready to hit her, but instead grabs her head and forces his way in. He tears through her memories, tears through her time with the Uchiha traitor (the first one that is). He sees how he tortured her, how the bastard raped her and bruised her beautiful calloused skin. And saw only ugliness. Disgusted and angry he pulls back, watching the girl sag plaintively before him, her glassy green eyes staring past him, through him. Never at him.

In a moment of sheer insanity he attacks her. Yes attacks her, his goliath hands gripping her thighs brutally as he lowesr his tall frame over her. He will forever live with the shame that he almost sunk to low; he almost repeated what the Uchiha bastard had done. After this Ibiki, for the first time, will look in the mirror with disgust. He didn't want to hurt her, even when those damning green eyes demand he do so.

He does not work with her for a full month after this, claiming boredom and has Inoichi handle most of the questioning for a while. Then a full moon comes and Ibiki feels and awful foreboding. In hindsight he does not know why he went to her, a broken ugly pretty thing for comfort. She readily offers what he wants that night, and he greedily takes and takes and takes.

The next day Konoha is thrown into and uproar of rejoice. Uchiha Itachi is dead, and Ibiki is left to wonder what will happen to Sakura. He had feared that she would recede into herself tormented by grief, and the death of her supposed lover. When he goes to her though, with the news, she just gives him a small, tired smile.

"I know," she says, with a tone almost implying that she is there, already, of course she'd know.

That makes him love her even more, and he clears her for release four days later. Two days after her release he begins to court her. He sends flowers to her house, and treats her to public dinners, and people begin to talk.

They claim she slept her way out of detainment. They said horrible, horrible things about her and it sets him into a foul mood. Sakura just looks at him calmly, and smiles sadly, like there's never been anything but sadness in her smiles.

A year passes, and then another. And Sakura at twenty-four is sent out again on missions. She comes back with the last Uchiha dead, and her body, once again broken. This time he does not ask for her for her story he only asks permission, and she gives consent from the hospital bed that makes her look sick and fragile. He does not admit that she probably is sick and fragile, as he enters her mind. Her memories are different this time. And he realizes with misplaced pride that she herself had modified them on the spot previously, but this trip through tears him apart. The Uchiha, had towards the end of her imprisonment treated her softly, and she had already been mad for him. He wonders if she'll ever feel that way about him as memory after memory flashes by, and then the horrible ugly secret is revealed.

The secret of Itachi's ultimate loyalty is brought to light under his eyes.

Ibiki deserts her mind right then and there, and watches at her vitals drop, and Tsunade rushes in to save her. Sakura recovers only to die trying to save him, ugly old Ibiki, after Konoha is under attack by the real Uchiha traitor, Madara. He hates her for it. He hates her because it ws an act of love, an act of the love she is to cowardly to admit before dying, and in spite of her he with holds the truth about Itachi until he is on his deathbed, waiting to see Sakura bathed in white, and smiling with something other than morbid sadness. He does see her and almost hates her for being beautiful now when in life she had been boyish and beaten. It's only almost though, because she's got pretty yellow flowers woven between the pink strands of her hair, and her palm, outstretched towards him. His large scarred hand envelopes hers, and they, himself, Sakura and Itachi on Sakura's other side begin walking into sheer nothingness.

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